Friday, October 31, 2008

Nice deco features like the small porch barely covering the door and the rounded room at the front of the house contrasting with the rectangle of the rest of the structure. Great use of glass bricks maintaining privacy but still allowing the like into the house.

I like the narrow window near the front door. Half the size of the windows on the upper level and the one between the sections of glass bricks.

No doubt, though, my favourite part of this house is the zigzag railing on the on the raised patio along the frontof the house. Simple, clean lines. A real beauty.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

This sculpture in the Richelieu Garden beside the Town Hall in Calais is probably too late to be considered true Art Deco but I can see some elements in the stylisation that remind me of the deco period.

It was created by Yves de Coetlogon (1913-1973) to honour the fallen in both World Wars through the allegory of Peace. It replaced an earlier WWI monument by Moreau-Vauthier that had been extensivly damaged during WWII. Before that, Rodin's Burghers of Calais stood here until it was moved in 1924 to it's present location in front of the Town Hall.

The sculpture was unveiled in 1962, 100 years after the original garden had been established.

Monday, October 27, 2008

When I sat down and asked myself, 'where in the deco world will I go tonight?', my thoughts turned to Asmara. What was the name of the supermarket in Liberation Avenue? Reaching for my trustly Lonely Planet guidebook it automatically openned to the map of Asmara and I had my answer. Wikianos.

Wikianos Supermarket is in one corner of a large mixed residential/commercial building which takes up a whole block.

It was designed by Antonio Vitaliti and constructed in 1944. Quite late for an Italian building in Asmara.

The photo above shows the driveway entrance to the inner courtyard of the building. There are massive curved walls leading off the main street which are echoed in the windows on the balcony on the second storey.

To me the most interesting part of the building is the corners. The corner balconies are rounded as opposed to the right-angled roofline which cover them.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

The slender red brick building is the office that Napier architect Louis Hay built for himself after his previous office was damaged in the devastating 1931 earthquake.

The windows are interesting and the dark layer of bricks grounds the building but otherwise there is little or no decoration until the roofline.

Centred on the building is an arrangement of lines, squares, circles and finally a diamond bearing the year 1932. You can see these elements in various combinations in Hay's buildings all over Napier.

Above this detail rows of bricks are stepped back creating subtle interest.

The columns are also capped with decoration. Thin smooth rendered sections, painted a light cream or green colour, narrow the brick columns as the approach the sky. A series of twelve bricks are spaced up the column jutting out from the flat surface. The whole column is then topped with a green slab.

Friday, October 24, 2008

The use of bricks is interesting. The back of the shop and attached residence are in a dark red brick, while the front of the shop has been constructed using cream bricks with dark brown used for the bottom portion of the wall and for decoration.

The verandah looks new but above that there is very simple deco detailling. Speedlines or speed whiskers (as I learnt at Dr Matthew Martin's presentation, Streamliners, at the NGV Art Deco Symposium in June) decorate the edge of the parapet while a stepped vertical element is centered on the curved corner.

Monday, October 20, 2008

In an industrial area of Richmond, quite close to where Dame Nellie Melba was born, there is a grey, non-descript single storey building. A former foundry. It has rounded corners on the walls at the loading bay entrance and may even have a simple stepped parapet, I don't recall.

It does, however, have a wonderful frieze depicting well-muscled workers in various aspects of building construction.

In the foreground, one man is sawing timber while two others empty a wheelbarrow. If you look closly at the top centre, there is also a man riding a large girder, perhaps the product of this foundry, as it is lifted into place by a crane.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

In the 1920s, French artist Jacques Majorelle fell in love with Marrakech, settled there and over time created this amazing garden. It contains a fantastic array of plants integrated with architectural elements.

A unifying feature is the vibrant blue used throughout the garden, now called Majorelle Blue.

The garden were opened to the public in 1947 but after Majorelle's death in 1962 due to a car accident fell into a state of disrepair.

In 1980, Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent purchased the gardens and undertook major restoration work ensuring that the Jardin Majorelle would remain a quiet public oasis in the hustle and bustle of modern-day Marrakech.

Friday, October 17, 2008

You may not be surprised to know that the Eureka Stockade Hotel in Ballarat East is close to the site of the Eureka Stockade but not that close. It is however a great little deco pub.

This picture was probably taken in December 2004 when I was in Ballarat to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the miner's uprising and the taking of the stockade just before dawn on December 3rd by heavily armed troopers and police.

The pub looked a bit run-down then with the paint peeling from the Foster's Lager signage around the verandah but the deco parapet partially hiding the standard hip roof is pretty good.

It has been painted since then and I think it looks a bit naked now. I guess Carlton & United Breweries didn't contribute towards the new paint job. Maybe it hadn't been finished because it is unusual not to have the name of the hotel prominently displayed.

Maybe it is the beer-drinker in me but I do prefer the Foster's version.

The building was originally Barton's Garage and then at some stage became Dragon Mart and then after that Mothercare.

It now appears that it has been demolished to make way for a fairly standard shopping centre.

Correction - January 2011I am very happy to report that I was wrong. This building, Barton House in Colin Campbell Court has not been demolished and will feature in an interesting arts project from March 31 - April 9.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

This great little theatre is on the Sir Donald Bradman Highway in Hilton, Adelaide. It is currently called Star Theatre One but has previously gone under other names.

The deco front seems to have been added in the late 1930s to cater for the growing popularity of films. It is simple but elegant. Speedlines wrapping around the curved corners and a stepped pediment and vertical sign above the entrance.

In recent decades it has returned to live entertainment with a focus on local productions.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

I often see interesting buildings down sidestreets and have to detour or a better look.

In this case, a glimpse of an octagonal roof drew me to Bishopstone Railway Station. According to 74simon.co.uk, the station was opened in 1938 with the hope that the nearby village of Bishopstone would expand through the development of commuter homes to link the residential areas to the railway line. The onslaught of WWII put any such plans on hold and the station still seemed remote when I saw it.

In a way it is a shame. In another place (and on a sunnier day) this would be well-known, spectacular art deco building.

The building is symetrical with curved elements either side of the entrance and the main part of the structure set back with that incredible octagonal dome above the ticket hall. A flagpole marks the centre of the leading face.

Monday, October 6, 2008

In the modern world of cinema multiplexes, I think it is great that at least some part of these great art deco buildings have been preserved and converted. Often it is just the facade and perhaps the main foyer but when the alternative is demolition like so many former cinemas then we need to appreciate what we have got.

My favourite part of this building are the curved balconies on the corner.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

All good things come to an end and today is the final day of the Melbourne Masterpieces Exhibition - Art Deco 1910-1939 at the National Gallery of Victoria in St Kilda Road.

If you are within driving distance of Melbourne and you haven't been already get there early. It is sure to be packed. Over 200,000 people have visited so far and the catalog has sold out in both hard back and soft back.

So one last chance to see my pics (and others) going around with the Normandie and also in the Australian section of the show. Not to mention the fantastic deco treasures on show.

Friday, October 3, 2008

I have been working on a very exciting project with the President of the Art Deco Society, Robin Grow, over the past few months and hopefully I can tell you more later in the year.

However, the other day when I met up with him, he had a cutting advertising the 1935 Exposition Universelle et Internationale Bruxelles with a drawing of a building that I recognised immediately and answered a question I've had for about 8 years.

One very dreary weekend I visited Brussels. It was grey, overcast and snowy. Snow in the mountain forests is white, pristine and dreamy. By mid-morning in the city, snow is black, mushy and unpleasant.

My cousin had recommended that I check out the Atomium. He had visited as a schoolboy and I hope it was better when he visited because to me it really fitted in with the dreary theme of the weekend.

It was built for the 1958 Brussels Expo so it would have been relatively new when he saw it. Perhaps it is better now that it is 50 years old.

Anyway, at the other end of the avenue was this fabulous building. I didn't know what it was and it was too cold and dreary to go and investigate so I zoomed in as far as I could and took this picture.

Now, thanks to Robin, I know that it is the Palais de Expositions, or Grand Palais. It was designed for the 1935 Expo by Joseph Van Neck, was also used during the 1958 Expo and is still in use today.

Back in 1935, the Exposition Universelle et Internationale Bruxelles ran from April to November and hosted about 20 million visitors.

MELBOURNE ART DECO
In 2009 Robin Grow published a book on Melbourne Art Deco, with images largely supplied by David Thompson. The book quickly sold out and he is pleased to say that it has now been re-published by Brolga Press, with updates, errors corrected and a new cover.

Best of all, it is selling for about $25 in the shops and on-line. Art Deco & Modernism Society members can purchase a copy from me for $22, (includes postage within Australia). For overseas orders please email for postage rates. Contact me at robingrow@ozemail.com.au if you are interested, and advise if you would like the book to be dedicated and/or signed.